Faith Reflection: Mercy—The Beauty of Our Young
Joy and a sense of humor go together in the life of a Christian, said Pope Francis in Gaudete Et Exsultate (Rejoice and Be Glad). This is the mark of a Christian life—joy in the midst of struggles as well as when things are humming along nicely.
Fourth grade can tell you about being joyful and having a sense of humor. Around Easter Miguel brought up something that made me recall a Word On Fire article by Bishop Robert Barron, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles. The focus of the article is on the Mass, but in the lead up to talking about the beauty of the Mass he talks about how doing something useless can be the most sublime and noblest thing we do because we do it simply for the joy of it. The Fourth Graders greatly enjoyed this idea of doing things, useless things, just for the pure joy of doing them. We’ve had much fun, and have been filled with much joy, in doing useless things (cow hunting, donut harvesting, wrapping benches and bushes in the parish courtyard) simply because it was fun. If Pope Francis had happened upon our class these past weeks he would have known he was in a Christian place; joy and a sense of humor were very much present.
As part of a project the Fourth Graders were working on recently we asked Mrs. Sanders, one of our class parents who writes poetry, if she would write a poem that fit to our theme of being useless. She very happily obliged and came back a couple days later with this poem. It so beautifully fit our theme, and it is so faith-filled, that as we head off on summer break we would like to share her poem with you. We pray you have a great summer doing many useless things just because they are enjoyable and fill you with delight.
Useless
by Mrs. Nikki Sanders
You say I’m useless, but I wasn’t/always this way./You keep asking me what I’ve done/with my day ~/As if it’s not enough to pray/When all I want to do is stay/in Your Holy stillness.
Is it not enough to examine each thought?/Does it have to be an exciting plot?/If I humbly dedicate my heart indeed,/Will you give me everything I need/to be your voice?
Is it useless to give someone a smile?/What if that’s all they needed to make/the last mile?/Maybe the struggle that has been mine/Will help another’s soul to shine/in your gracious light.
Is it useless to bow my head in prayer?/Do I need to be active in order to share/The depth of God’s love for each daughter & son?/Can my prayers unite us all into one?
Would it be useless for me to hold/out my hand?/When you’re falling, I can help you stand./Come discover your purpose to fight,/To dispel the darkness with my perfect light,/and create hope again!
Lord make us useful in what we say & do ~/Only that our lives may serve & glorify you.
Lastly 4th grade blesses everyone with a summer prayer (written by Sarah Mollenkopf and Richard Bullis): God, please let us have an amazing fun and safe summer. May we let you be in our hearts. May we let you guide us through all the things we face and start us up for next year. And may the LA team win. Amen.
Thank you. Mrs. Alhadef
Click on the link below to read Bishop Barron’s Oct 2017 article mentioned above.
https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/article/what-is-happening-at-mass/5609/
Also, Bishop Barron's new 6 part series The Mass just came out on June 12th. Click on the link to watch the first episode.